Help students brainstorm the names of some famous skyscrapers. Many are probably familiar with the Empire State Building in New York City or the Sears Tower in Chicago. Have a brief discussion about why people build such giant buildings. For example, they are efficient in crowded cities because they provide maximum office or living space while taking up a small amount of ground. They have also become cultural or industrial icons and a source of pride for the city in which they are found.

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Now create your own skyline in your classroom or in a nearby hall. Begin by dividing the class into five groups. Assign each group to the following skyscrapers: Petronas Towers, Sears Tower, Chrysler Building, or Empire State Building. Have the groups answer the following questions about their skyscraper:

Where is the skyscraper located?

When was it completed? How long did the construction take?

How tall is it?

What materials were used in its construction?

Who was the architect who designed the building? What were some of the goals the architect was trying to accomplish? Do you think he or she succeeded in meeting those objectives?

During what year(s) was it the tallest building in the world? When, if ever, did it lose its title? Where does this building rank today among the tallest in the world?

What materials or technology enabled it to surpass the heights of previously constructed skyscrapers?

How many people visit this skyscraper each day/week/month/year?

What were some of the challenges involved in building it?

Were any people injured or killed during the building process?

What are some important events that took place in this skyscraper?

The following Web sites are good sources of information about these buildings:

Create a skyline in the class or nearby hallway. After the groups complete their research, have each create an illustration, drawn to scale, of its skyscraper on piece of poster board or on butcher paper. Each group should use the same scale, such as 1 foot of illustration = 100 feet of actual skyscraper. The actual scale you select with depend on the wall space available. At the bottom of the illustration, ask them to include a stick figure of a 5-foot person for size comparison.

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Then have students create an index card with basic facts about the building (name, year built, location). Then have them write 5-10 fun facts about the building on sticky notes and post them around their illustration.

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Assign the Take-Home Sheet: Careers in Engineering and Architecture as homework. Have students bring in their sheets and discuss their ideas. Take a poll of which careers the students found the most appealing. Did one career stand out as that in which most students are interested?

Older students might enjoy the challenge of creating three-dimensional models of their skyscrapers. Students could make their models by carving Styrofoam, stacking Legos or K’nex, cutting and bending cardboard, or cutting and gluing balsa wood. High school students may also be interested in creating a research presentation about the organization that monitors the world’s tallest buildings,Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

How do engineers make skyscrapers strong enough to withstand earthquakes, high winds, and severe changes in temperature?

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If you could visit any skyscraper in the world, which one would you pick? Why?

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How do you think a skyscraper enhances a city? Why does it instill pride in a city’s residents? Try to find some evidence to support your ideas.

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If you could design a new skyscraper for your town or city, what would it look like? What material(s) would you use to create it? What design elements might you use that reflect your town’s history, culture, or icons?

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What are some dangers involved in the construction of skyscrapers? What precautions are taken to minimize the risks?

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Do you think skyscrapers are a good way to deal with space constraints in urban areas? Do you think the advantages of skyscrapers outweigh the disadvantages? Provide evidence to support your answer.

Students should be able to work together in their groups; create an accurate, attractive illustration of a skyscraper; and find some interesting facts about their skyscraper. Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students’ work during this lesson:

Three points:Students worked together well in their groups, created a skyscraper that was visually and factually accurate, displayed creativity and careful planning, and adhered to the required scale. Students also found many interesting facts about their skyscraper.

Two points:Students worked together adequately in their groups and created a skyscraper illustration that was mostly accurate, showed some creative ideas and forethought, and adhered to the required scale. Students also found some interesting facts about their skyscraper.

One point:Students had trouble working together in their group and created a skyscraper illustration that showed little planning, included minimal information or much inaccurate information, and ignored the scale determined by the class. Students were not able to find many interesting facts about their skyscraper.

Repair a Skyscraper in DistressAsk students to imagine that they are on a committee of civil engineers and architects asked to figure out how to repair a troubled building. What information would they need to solve the problem? What questions would they ask? ThePBS Web sitepresents scenarios about troubled buildings that students can use for this activity.

Get a Load of This!This interactive labpresents real-life conditions that affect structures, such as temperature, wind, and vibration. This site’s animation enables students to see how reinforcements can stabilize structures.

Skyscrapers: How America Grew UpJohn B. Severance. Holiday House, 2000.The creation of the modern skyscraper depended not only on engineering and architectural advances, but on other innovations as well - from elevators to electricity to air conditioning. This book looks at the history of some of the most famous skyscrapers, describes several different types of skyscraper architecture, and details many of the innovations that made these giant buildings possible.

Skyscrapers: Form and FunctionDavid Bennett. Simon & Schuster, 1995.Skyscrapers are indeed a necessary blend of form and function - and this book explains how both are integrated to make beautiful buildings that work. Hundreds of wonderful photographs and intricate illustrations, including several that fold out to reveal more detail.

CONTEST: Paper TowerUsing just scotch tape, a pair of scissors, a ruler, and a pencil, challenge teams of your students to build the tallest free-standing tower possible from a single sheet of paper. From the mechanical engineers at U Cal's Berkeley campus.

Skyscrapers: Going UpDiscovery Online provides a multimedia skyscraper experience that includes a history of building tall structures and a photo gallery of some of the world's tallest buildings.

SkyscrapersA-to-Z Science at Discovery Online provides information on the basic structure of the modern skyscraper and shows a list of the world's tallest buildings and when they were built.

This lesson plan may be used to address the academic standards listed below. These standards are drawn from Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education: 2nd Edition and have been provided courtesy of theMid-continent Research for Education and Learningin Aurora, Colorado.

Grade level:6-8Subject area:ScienceStandard:Understands the scientific enterprise.Benchmarks:Knows that people of all backgrounds and with diverse interests, talents, qualities, and motivations engage in fields of science and engineering; some of these people work in teams, and others work alone, but all communicate extensively with others.

Grade level:6-8Subject area:TechnologyStandard:Understands the nature of technological design.Benchmarks:Implements a proposed design (e.g., organizes materials and other resources, plans one’s work, makes use of group collaboration when appropriate, chooses suitable tools and techniques, works with appropriate measurement methods to ensure accuracy).

Grade level:6-8Subject area:TechnologyStandard:Understands the nature of technological design.Benchmarks:Evaluates the ability of a technological design to meet purpose criteria (e.g., considers factors that might affect acceptability and suitability for intended users or beneficiaries; develops measures of quality with respect to these factors), suggests improvements, and tries proposed modifications.